VIENTIANE — Deadly sectarian violence rocking western Myanmar is "an issue of
concern" for the whole of Southeast Asia, Indonesia's foreign minister
said on Monday.
Dozens of people have been killed
and more than 100,000 displaced by clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and
Rohingya Muslims since June, casting a shadow over a string of widely praised
political reforms.
"Of course the matter to do
with the Rohingya, the Rakhine state is an issue of concern for ASEAN
countries, for individual ASEAN countries," Indonesian Foreign Minister
Marty Natalegawa said.
"We (Indonesia) wish very
much for Myanmar to be able to address this problem in a positive way in the
same way that it has on the overall democratic process," he told AFP ahead
of an Asia-Europe summit in Laos.
The Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been accused by the West in the past of turning a
blind eye to human rights abuses by the generals who ran Myanmar for decades.
But a series of political reforms
under President Thein Sein, including the release of political prisoners and
the election of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament, has
brought a sea change in relations.
"The fact that we can meet
here in the heart of Southeast Asia almost without having Myanmar as an issue
centre-stage as it has been in the past is a reflection of how far Myanmar has
travelled in terms of its democratic transition," Natalegawa said.
Top European officials including
French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti are
due to lead efforts at the summit to reassure Asia that the long-running
eurozone debt crisis is finally abating.
"We have confidence in
Europe's capacity to address its own challenges and problems... but it's always
useful to be able to share lessons learned on dealing with financial
crises," Natalegawa said, noting Asia's experience with the market turmoil
that shook the region in the late 1990s.
"While Europe may be
encountering some difficulties just now, Asia can continue to remain as a
strong locomotive for global economic growth," he added.
AFP
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